when i did PT for my extruded disc years ago, it didn't really do much for me. Part of that was my fault because i didn't really know how to take it seriously or something, but part of it was that the clinic that i went to also didn't do a great job of inspiring confidence that they actually knew what they were doing. I exhibited some symptoms that seemed contradictary to what they expected in a lot of cases, particularly when it came to my reaction to traction, and as opposed to making any sort of adjustments or asking me for feedback so that they could make those adjustments, the clinic guy and cute blonde in chargef of me both kind of scratched their heads and said, "well, i'm not sure, but let's just keep going and give it more time."

in contrast, at the clinic i went to today, the person i was assigned to, a fairly young and attractive brunette, was very quick to evaluate and assess my situation and not only gave me the exercise program but also the whys behind it in easy to explain terms. The PT regimen was also designed to not just help but also diganose the issue and help guide her on what to do next if i showed improvement or no improvement, which would allow her to explore new pathways in the future. She emphasized me giving her feedback as detailed as possible to help guide her and to teach me how to be aware of my own body, something i've improved on greatly in the past decade or so but still have some ways to go.

I'm supposed to do PT for about two months and then see if i show signs of improvement. i'm not sure what constitutes improvement right now, i kind of want the improvement to be less about the pain which i don't actually feel much of and more about the numbness which i, ahem, feel more often. but it's very true that the numbness could be an effect of the root issue which is likely still to do with the extruded disc, so we'll see.

It's possible i may try to slowly reinsert some arrowstomping in too based on how arrowstomping seemed to go okay the other day - i'm out of shape and it was more dfificult with the weird foot issues, but it didn't seem to make the issue worse, so i think that so long as i do it at an easy pace and not try to overdo it, it might be okay. going to play that one by ear.